The Start of the Beginning
by Pure Essence
Summary: The first time Sakuno Ryuzaki met Ryoma Echizen was when they were six months old. Yes, not twelve years old but six months old. RyoSaku slightly AU/prequel


Pure Essence: Hello everybody! It's been a while since I've written anything…again (sorry sorry). I would like to first thank all my fellow readers for continuously giving me encouragement to write. I love the fact that even though my stories have been out for so long, I'm still receiving a lot of love through the reviews. It makes me happy to know that someone somewhere is still enjoying a story I wrote a long time ago.

I know that I've been inactive for a while and as always my excuse is just one word: Life. Though I can't guarantee that I won't be on hiatus here and there, I'll be back once in a while when some crazy imaginative plot suddenly skip into my daydreams. I do hope that all of you will continue to support me no matter when I update and continue to read and review my fics!

Unlike my previous fics, I wanted to try a plot that was not _directly_ related to the storyline of the actual anime/manga timeline. Whereas my previous stories all focused on Sakuno and Ryoma's relationship when they were 12 or over and in the Seigaku setting, I wanted to make an original and slightly AU-prequel story about a possible scenario that was never mentioned in the manga or shown in the anime. Some situations may be _different_such as the location of homes or the location of characters at a certain point in time as compared to the anime/manga. I need to mix it up a bit to make it work. I hope you guys and gals will enjoy it though!

Disclaimer: I do not own Prince of Tennis but I did use parts of the manga and its dialogues and scenes to tie in everything to my story. Boooooo.

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><p><strong>The Start of the Beginning<strong>

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><p>The first time Sakuno Ryuzaki met Ryoma Echizen was when they were six months old. Yes, not twelve years old but <em>six months old<em>. At that time, Nanjirou Echizen and his wife Rinko had brought their baby boy along with them to the Ryuzaki residence for a dinner in celebration of Nanjirou's win at a Wimbledon tournament.

"My, he looks just like you Nanjirou." Sumire Ryuzaki exclaimed when she first laid eyes on the tiny bundle of joy in Rinko's arms. "He's going to grow up to be quite a handsome young man."

"Of course." Nanjirou replied shamelessly. "He takes after the handsome Nanjirou Echizen after all."

Sumire Ryuzaki couldn't help but scoff slightly at her ex-student's response. Rinko simply rolled her eyes at him. "I hope that good looks are one of the few things Ryoma inherited from you. It'd be trouble if he inherited your perversion and idiocy too."

Nanjirou was about to retort to his wife's statement but was stopped short when Rinko threw him a glare that interpreted into something along the lines of "_If you still want to keep your secret stash of adult magazines (which I know you hid above the closet), then you better not say anything more or I'm burning them tonight._"

The message seemed to have gotten across for he gulped and simply dismissed the matter with a simple "Tch." Seeing that she won this round, she smiled proudly before turning to Sumire.

"Anyway, where's Sakuno-chan?" asked Rinko. "It's been a good few months since I've last seen her."

"She's upstairs in the crib. It's about time I bring her down here. I'm sure she would be extremely happy to know that she has someone to play with now." Sumire Ryuzaki stood up and proceeded to go up the stairs. "I'll be right back. Please make yourself at home in the meanwhile."

A few minutes later, she came back downstairs with a baby girl in her arms. Rinko's eyes lid up when she saw baby Sakuno. "She's becoming cuter and cuter every time I see her!" gushed Rinko. Though she is content with having Ryoma, she had always dreamed of having a daughter as well – a baby girl of her own that she can pamper with lace and frills.

"Da Da." Baby Sakuno suddenly cooed and reached out her tiny hands toward Nanjirou. Sumire's eyes softened at the sight and handed Sakuno to Nanjirou.

"Sakuno thinks you're her father…" she explained as her eyes teared up slightly. "Since her father passed away early she never had the chance to meet him. She seems to think every male guest she meets is her father."

"Poor Sakuno-chan…" whispered Rinko. "She also lost her mother to childbirth. It must've been very difficult for you to work and take care of Sakuno-chan at the same time."

"No. She is a blessing so she is no trouble at all."

Sumire shook her head and chuckled when she spotted Sakuno taking Nanjirou's finger and trying to stick it into her mouth.

"Ara. That's not nice!" scolded Sumire as she pulled Sakuno's little hands away from Nanjirou's finger. "It's time to come over here and say hi to your new friend, Sakuno." The grandmother took her granddaughter from Nanjirou's arms and brought her over to the couple's baby boy.

"This is Ryoma-kun. Say hi." She took Sakuno's fisted hand and waved it at Ryoma. Ryoma simply stared at her not quite understanding what is going on. Sakuno tried to pull back her hand while mumbling something incoherent in baby language. At this time, Rinko also brought forth Ryoma. Standing him up on her lap, she introduced the baby girl to her baby boy. "This is Sakuno-chan, Ryoma. In the future, you have to treat her well okay?" Baby Ryoma simply turned his head to the side and made a sound that sounded somewhat like a grunt.

"Mada mada dane." Said Nanjirou. "I can already tell he's going to be socially awkward with women. How can he not have any reaction when seeing such a cute girl in front of him?"

"For god's sake, they're only babies Nanjirou." scolded Rinko. "You're going to jinx him with your nonsense."

As the couple continued to bicker back and forth, Sumire quickly interrupted them with the request for dinner. "I have another crib downstairs just outside the kitchen. We can leave them there. This way we can keep an eye on them as we have dinner."

Sumire then guided Rinko to the crib right by the dining table. They both set the baby down into the large crib before heading back to the dining table for dinner.

In the crib, the two awkward babies sat facing one another. Like all other babies, baby Sakuno loved to touch the unfamiliar and explore her new surrounding. She leaned forward and slightly pulled at Ryoma's hand to get his attention. Ryoma pushed her hand away as if afraid she had the baby cooties. "Ddnaien" she gurgled out her incoherent baby language and reached for Ryoma again. This time, she aimed for his dark green locks. But once again, Ryoma swatted her hands away with a low grumble. As if understanding that she was being rejected, Sakuno stopped trying to touch the other party. Instead, she slowly crawled away from him to the other end of the crib.

Lying down on her stomach, she yawned. Sakuno had originally planned to take an evening nap before Sumire Ryuzaki brought her down from her crib upstairs. Now the delayed sleep was starting to kick in. Losing interest in her previous curiosity, she ignored the other party in the crib and slowly drifted off into a deep sleep by herself.

In the meantime, baby Ryoma was watching his bothersome "friend" slowly fall asleep on the other end. Watching Sakuno sleep made Ryoma sleepy as well. After all, what babies do best is sleep. As he lay down to take his nap, he realized he could not. The crib felt too large to sleep comfortably in. At home, he often slept in between his parents so there was warmth on both side. The open space on either side of him now was uncomfortable. Though he was only a baby, he naturally seeks the same type of comfort and warmth no matter where he is.

As if led by natural instincts, he crawled over to the bundle of pink at the other end until he was right next to the sleeping Sakuno. He scooted over until he felt her warmth on his right side. When he felt comfortable with the familiar feeling of having someone or something warm next to him, he slowly felt himself falling into a deep slumber.

By the time the adults returned, they were smiling at the scene before them. The two babies were cuddled up next to each other snuggly as if they were inseparable…

"Ara? I guess that little brat likes Sakuno-chan after all."

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><p>The second time Sakuno Ryuzaki met Ryoma Echizen was when she was seven years old. Her grandmother had brought her over to the Echizen household to ask for a favor. Sumire Ryuzaki needed a babysitter for one day due to a long distance field trip she needed to take her students on. Because she will be back late, she needed someone to watch over Sakuno until then.<p>

As the two proceeded through the front gates, Sakuno stared in awe at the size of the place. Much of it was grass but there was a single road that led up to a temple looking house. She stared curiously at the new place and was startled when a woman came out from the house and greeted her grandmother.

"I'm so sorry to trouble you with this favor." She heard her grandmother say to the lady.

"Iie. It's no trouble at all. I've missed Sakuno-chan so much and I've been wanting to see her for a while now." she exclaimed. The lady bent down to her knees and stood in front of Sakuno.

"It's been a while Sakuno-chan. You probably don't remember me but we've met before when you were a baby." Sakuno blushed shyly when the lady looked at her and quickly hid behind her grandmother. She was not used to having a stranger speak directly to her.

"Sakuno." Her obaa-chan pulled her to the front. "Don't be shy. She's obaa-chan's close friend. While I'm away, be good and stay with Rinko-san here."

Sakuno nodded hesitantly at her grandmother's instructions. She stood quietly by the lady's side as her grandmother exchanged a few more words and waved good bye to them. Slowly, tears welled up in Sakuno's eyes as she watched her grandmother walk further and further away, leaving her with a person she did not know at all. When her grandmother disappeared completely from her sight, the dam broke and Sakuno began to cry.

"S-Sakuno-chan! Don't cry! Your obaa-chan will be back later so in the meantime let's go in and play together okay?" She hugged little Sakuno in her arms until the crying diminished into little sobs and hiccups. Rinko carried Sakuno into the back of the house where Sakuno noticed a large porch. There were many yellow balls that she was familiar with lying all it. She remembered seeing the same ones in her grandmother's room.

"T-Tennis balls." She stuttered out and Rinko beamed at her.

"You know what those are Sakuno-chan?" Sakuno nodded slowly. "O-Obaa-chan has those t-too."

"Did she teach you how to play it?"

Sakuno nodded. "D-Demo, I'm bad at it." She blushed shyly.

"Daijoubu." said Rinko with a smile on her face. "I'm sure Ryoma-kun here would love to help you with that."

"R-Ryoma-k—?" she was about to ask who that was when the annoyed voice of a boy called out from the area beyond the porch. "Okaa-san! Oyaji keeps throwing tennis balls at me!"

Sakuno watched as a boy about her age climbed onto the porch from the backyard and stomped over to where they were. Despite having a scowl on his face, Sakuno found him to be extremely good looking. The little boy had unruly dark green hair with the most beautiful olive-gold cat eyes she'd ever seen. She felt her face burn hot and quickly hid behind Rinko in a state of shyness.

"Who's that?" the little boy asked when he noticed Sakuno hiding behind his mother.

"Ryoma, this is Sakuno-chan. She is the granddaughter of the tennis coach who trained your father when he was in school. Say hi."

Ryoma gave Sakuno a glare and simply let out a "hmph" before going up to his mother and dragging her off toward the porch. Sakuno held tightly to the dress Rinko was wearing and walked with her as the little boy continue to lead them forward. "Can't you do something about Oyaji?" he asked her in a frustrated tone while pointing to a man lying sideways on the floor with his leg half folded up. Sakuno noticed that the man was lying in the middle of a tennis court. His eyes were closed and he was humming a random tune. "He's not playing seriously!"

Rinko rubbed her eyes tiredly at the complaint and then looked down to face Sakuno. She patted little Sakuno on the head. "I'll be right back." She said to Sakuno and then turned to Ryoma. "Keep her company while I go take care of your father."

Rinko then proceeded to walk off the porch and headed toward her husband. The two children watched as the woman went up to her husband and dragged him off by the ears leaving only trails of yelps and whimpers behind. There was an awkward silence that followed when the two adults disappeared leaving the two to their own devices.

"A-Ano, konnichiwa. My name is S-Sakuno Ryuzaki." She reintroduced herself with a polite bow.

"I know that already." Ryoma said and headed towards the porch again. He picked up a racket and a few tennis balls and walked back to the court where the man previously was. He then tried to hit some balls across the net. However, most of them ended up hitting the net rather than making it over. Sakuno watched as the boy continue to throw, aim and hit. Determination reflected in his eyes as he concentrated deeply at hitting the balls and trying to make them go over the net. When he continuously made them across, Sakuno clapped loudly for him.

"Sugoi Ryoma-kun!" she exclaimed. "Y-You're really good!"

"Cheh. This is nothing." He said and looked her way. "One day I'll be so good that even baka oyaji won't be able to beat me."

Sakuno blushed when her eyes met his. Quickly breaking eye contact, she distracted herself by picking up a tennis ball. "W-We have these at home too."

"Then you must know how to play tennis. Your grandmother is a tennis coach after all."

"E-Eh? I-I guess you can say that…"

"Play a game with me then." He said (or more like demanded).

"I—" Sakuno began to protest but was cut off when Ryoma handed her a spare racket. "Since you're a girl, I'll let you start first."

"Mou…" Sakuno mumbled as she held the racket to her chest. How was she going to explain to Ryoma that she's actually very _very_ bad at this sport? In the many times she had practiced with her obaa-can, she probably only managed to hit the ball properly around five times. Three of the five were probably from luck and none of them ever made it across the net.

"Ano, actua—"

"Hurry." He interrupted impatiently. Sighing exasperatedly, Sakuno decided it was probably better to _show_ him what she meant than to_ tell_ him because he just wouldn't listen to her explanations. Standing behind the white line like her grandmother taught, she fidgeted nervously then paused for a moment, and finally threw the ball into the air. As the ball fell down in slow motion (from her perspective), She quickly swung her racket and closed her eyes praying that she managed to hit it.

-**Plop!**- she heard the ball drop and wonder if she managed to sail it across to Ryoma. She opened her eyes only to see Ryoma staring weirdly at her from his end of the court. She quickly looked around to see where the ball went only to see that it was lying a foot from where she was standing. Realizing that she had missed hitting the ball completely, she flushed in embarrassment.

"Mada Mada Dane." He said. "Am I supposed to expect a special move with that ball if I wait a little longer?"

"Err…" Sakuno suddenly wanted herself to be invisible. She would've practiced harder with her grandmother if she knew she would be showing her so called "skills" at such a soon time. She was about to cook up an excuse about how she was not in good shape today when she felt a racket tap her on the back of the knees.

"You have to bend your knees."

"H-Huh?"

"…and don't close your eyes. You have to watch the ball."

Sakuno stared at the boy next to her. Even though he was young, she knew he was experienced at this. Just from observing him before, she was reminded of the form her grandmother had when she swung her racket. Ryoma was obviously not as perfect since he was only 6 years old but Sakuno knew that he was truly a talented player.

"Are you listening to me?" Ryoma's voice brought her back to reality.

"H-Hai." She answered and proceeded to bend her knees as Ryoma instructed. Throwing the ball up in the air again, she kept her eyes open as she swung at the falling ball….only to miss it again. "Mou…" she sighed at her failure.

"You swung the racket too early." Ryoma said when he saw her dejected form. "Watch." He stood next to her and slowly did each form slowly as she observed.

**-Swoosh!-** Sakuno heard the racket come swinging forward and hit the ball. The ball flew over the net.

Sakuno stared in awe at the child prodigy's skill. "Now you try it."

'_I must not let Ryoma-kun down.'_ She thought to herself as she tightened a hold on her racket. Standing at the correct position, she threw the ball into the air again. With ultimate concentration, she watched the ball fall midway before aiming her racket right when the ball meets its center.

**-pok!-** her heart raced as she watch the racket meet the ball and sailed across the court. It almost hit the net but somehow made it across. Sakuno stood frozen on the spot for a moment. Her heart was still pumping from adrenaline and nervousness. As she absorbed the fact that she actually _hit a ball across the net_ she dropped her racket and jumped with joy.

Suddenly losing her composure to the happiness she felt, she pulled Ryoma into her and hugged him tightly while jumping up and down with excitement. "Kya! I did it! Ryoma-kun, did you see that?" she laughed. Ryoma felt himself being pulled in suddenly and felt her fast heartbeat beating against his chest. For a moment he wondered if it was only her heart that was beating so quickly. He felt himself turn red at their close contact.

Without thinking, he pushed her off of him. He quickly turned away from her and coughed. "You've still got ways to go."

'_Sakuno no Baka!'_ she scolded herself when she finally recomposed herself and realized what she had just done. "G-Gomen ne, Ryoma-kun. I-It's just that it was my first t-time hitting a ball across the net." As she continued to explain herself, none of them noticed that a man in a messy hakama was sneakily watching them from the porch the whole while.

"Tsk tsk. That little brat doesn't even know how to take advantage of a girl making the first move." Nanjirou jibed when he saw Ryoma push Sakuno away from the hug. "He should've hugged her back. How can he resist such a cute girl?"

"Nanjirou…" the sugary sweet voice of his wife sounded behind him. Well, that was never a good sign. Rinko never used that voice unless she's about to teach him another lesson. "I hope you're not stalking Sakuno-chan like a pedophile right now."

"W-What?" he stuttered feeling the wrath of his wife coming on. "I-I was just watching them pla—"

"...in hiding?" she glared. "I think we need to talk…again." Nanjirou whined and complained as his wife dragged him off by his ears again.

"Did you hear something just now?" Sakuno asked curiously as she looked around the court. She thought she heard someone yelp from inside the house.

Ryoma shrugged and secretly smirked, knowing that it was probably his baka oyaji receiving punishment from his mother again for another idiotic thing he's done.

"E-Etou, Ryoma-kun. C-Can you practice serving with me?" Sakuno asked. "I-I want to show obaa-chan that I improved."

He was about to refuse until she gave him a pleading look and he nearly forgot how to say "no".

"N-, Fine." He gave in.

Sighing, he coached her on the side as she continued to serve flimsy but improved serves. They continued to practice until lunch time came around and Rinko came out to the porch to bring them sandwiches.

"Time for lunch!" Rinko called out from the porch to get their attention. The two tired children eagerly made their way to the porch and ate slowly in each other's presence. They mainly ate in silence while enjoying the view of the sunny sky. Occasionally a warm breeze would sweep by and ruffle Sakuno's wavy maroon colored hair. She sighed contently at the comfortable feeling and sneaked a peak at Ryoma. His unruly dark green hair floated with the wind and his eyes looked distant as if he was thinking hard about something. Her eyes must've been on him for too long since he turned and met her eyes.

Surprised brown eyes met curious olive-gold ones. "What?" he asked when he felt her stare a little too long. Sakuno blushed a dark red from being caught staring and quickly looked down to play with her fidgeting fingers. Her wavy hair shielded her face from him. "A-Ano…I-I didn't mean to stare…" she said in a quiet voice. "I-I was j-just wondering what Ryoma-kun was thinking about…"

He paused for a moment before raising his eyes to the sky. "Nothing much, just thinking about how to perfect the twist serve."

"Twist serve?" she asked curiously.

"Hn." He nodded. "It's a move in tennis where once the ball lands, it curves and aims at the opponent's face."

"Sugoi…" said Sakuno. "That must be really hard to do." Ryoma shrugged at her statement. "I'm still learning it from my baka oyaji. If he taught me seriously, I probably would've mastered it already."

"I-I'm sure Ryoma-kun will be able to complete it. You still have plenty of ti—"

"I don't have time." he answered. "There's someone I want to beat no matter what."

'_Someone he wants to beat?'_ Sakuno thought to herself. She wondered if that was what's motivating Ryoma to become so dedicated to tennis. "Who's that?" she asked out loud.

"Just…someone." He finished vaguely, not really wanting to elaborate on it. "Souka…" she mumbled and decided it was better not to make him reveal something that he wasn't comfortable enough to talk about.

"T-Then, can you show me the twist serve Ryoma-kun?" she asked hesitantly. "Demo, I-It's okay if you don't want to…"

Without answering her, he simply got up from the porch and made his way to the courts. He stood on the farther side where Sakuno could see the front side of him. Breathing slowly, he concentrated as he threw the ball into the air. His knees slowly bent at a 45 degree angle then his whole body lifted as he jumped. She heard the force of the smash and she watched in awe as the ball hit the other side of the court and rebounded in a curve shape. The twist serve was elegant she thought. It matched him perfectly.

However, she couldn't tell which part of it was imperfect. To her, it looked as perfect as it could be. Ryoma seemed to have read the question on her face because he answered, "It doesn't have enough of a twist in it. If it was perfect, it would have curved higher and with more force."

"O-Oh." She said, feeling a little ignorant. "B-But that was really cool, Ryoma-kun!" She clapped her hands together and smiled brightly. "I hope that next t-time I can see your perfected twist serve."

"Hn." He muttered. Ryoma wondered when exactly is that so called 'next time.'

"I hope you can at least serve properly _next time_." he said and Sakuno grumbled. "Mou…Ryoma-kun, Hidoi (You're so mean!)"

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><p>The 'next time' that they met again was not exactly what Ryoma or Sakuno had in mind. It was at the airport. Ryoma's family was suddenly moving to America. The first time Sakuno heard the news from her grandmother, she was so upset that she lost her appetite to eat for many days. Ever since she met Ryoma at his house, she had been diligently practicing tennis so that when they met again, she could show him her improvements and hope that he would compliment her. But now, she won't even have the opportunity to do that anymore.<p>

The fated day that Ryoma's family was leaving, Sakuno did not want to leave her house at all. "Come on, Sakuno." Her grandmother urged. "We have to send them off at the airport."

"I don't want to go!" she cried as she hid under her covers. "Sakuno…" said Sumire softly. Ever since she picked up Sakuno from the Echizen house about two weeks ago, she noticed that Sakuno had taken a much larger interest in tennis. Whenever Sumire brought up something about Ryoma, Sakuno would listen so intently as if that was the only thing she cared to hear about. It was then that Sumire realized that Sakuno could possibly have a crush on the boy.

"If you don't go, you might never see him again." The thought of never seeing Ryoma-kun again made Sakuno cry even harder. "D-Demo…"

"Sakuno, I know you like Ryoma very much." Her grandmother began, "But moving to America is a better choice for him. There are much more opportunities for him to shine over there. If he is recognized over there, he will be able to reach his goal faster. Don't you want him to be successful?"

Sakuno gulped down a sob and nodded under her blanket. "Good. Then hurry up and change. We have to leave the house in about half an hour if we are to make it in time."

Sakuno wiggled her head up and down to signal that she got the message. Once her grandmother closed the door to her room, she flipped the blanket off her head and dried her tears. She sadly went to the closet and picked out her favorite outfit and brushed her shoulder length wavy hair till it looked nice and kempt. Within thirty minutes later, she was in her grandmother's car heading towards the airport.

The ride was long and depressing to Sakuno. In the silence of the car, many thoughts crossed her mind such as whether or not Ryoma already knew about this move the last time she'd been there or if he will miss her at all after he leaves. She also wondered if he managed to perfect his twist serve. Many more thoughts passed through her mind and she tried to shut them out. The more she thought, the more she dreaded her destination.

When they arrived at the airport, they were actually late due to traffic. However, they managed to locate Ryoma and his family. He did not seem very fazed about the idea of moving according to Sakuno's point of view. He was actually very relaxed and calm about it.

She was the first to greet him when they met face to face. "H-Hello, Ryoma-kun." She whispered. He looked at her and then pulled the white baseball cap on his head lower and nodded as if to acknowledge her presence. "A-Ano, how long will you be in America?" she asked.

"I don't know." He answered and Sakuno wished that that wasn't the answer.

"Souka…" she drifted off sadly. "I-I was practicing hard at tennis like you t-told me to Ryoma-kun. I can even hit a proper serve now."

"Hn…"

His lack of conversation was making Sakuno even more anxious around him. She wondered how she could say goodbye to him without sounding like a weak girl. In all honesty, she knew she wasn't _in love_ with Ryoma. She was way too young to really understand what that meant. But she knew that she thinks about him sometimes when she's alone practicing tennis. She often dismissed it as simple admiration and possibly at most, a crush. For the last few days, she had planned to ask him many things but now that she's standing in front of him, all the thoughts escaped from her brain. All she could do is stare stupidly at him and waiting for his flight to be called. And as if the heavens hated her, his flight number got called right at this moment.

"I've got to go." He said without looking at her. "See you."

A tight feeling appeared in her gut. This was really it. He's really leaving. '_Ryoma-kun is really leaving_' she told herself.

She stood frozen on the spot as she watched Ryoma and his family wave goodbye to them. She didn't even notice Ryoma's mother coming over to her and giving her a hug. "Goodbye Sakuno-chan." Sakuno only heard her vaguely say. "I hope I get to see you again one day." Sakuno nodded mutely and watched as they all turned their backs and waited in line to enter the gate to board. Just as they were about to enter, Sakuno ran up to Ryoma.

"R-Ryoma-kun!" she half shouted. Ryoma turned to face her looking a little startled. "The next time we meet, you _have to_ show me your perfected twist serve." Sakuno had a look of determination on her face. "I'll also continue to practice hard so that I can show you how much I've improved. Promise?"

Ryoma thought about her words for a moment. "Next time huh?" the irony of the words. He wondered when and where the next 'next time' will be. But anyhow, an inner part of him was actually looking forward to it. _Next time_ he hoped that they wouldn't meet under such a situation again.

"Fine." He finally decided. A smile bloomed on Sakuno's lips then. "See you then!" she waved.

Ryoma nodded and disappeared through the gate. Although a bit sad, Sakuno did not lose hope. Ryoma had promised that he would show her the perfected twist serve. No matter how long the wait, she knew he would be back eventually.

Staring at the spot where Ryoma had been, she said to no one in particular:

"Itterashai! (Have a safe trip!)"

* * *

><p>Six years had passed since then. Sakuno is 13 years old and will be an incoming freshman of Seigaku Gakuen – the same school her grandmother coaches tennis at. Sakuno had spent the six years well. She made many new friends and even met her current best friend, Oskada Tomoka (or Tomo-chan in short). During the six years, Sakuno had practiced hard at tennis and although she was not exceptionally good at it, she was able to do some very basic tennis moves.<p>

As each year passed, she would try to recall the promise she made with a certain boy six years ago and wondered if he remembered her or the promise at all. Sometimes, she felt herself slowly forgetting about him and his name and wondered if that was for the best. After all, what if he really did forget and she was the only one holding on to the empty promise at the end? As she continuously told herself that logic over the years, she slowly allowed the boy to fade from that special place in her heart but never really dared to erase his existence from her life or memories completely.

Sakuno and her grandmother had moved as well since three years ago. Her grandmother bought a single family house near the school so that it would make it easier for the both of them to travel. Sakuno's appearance had also changed over the years. She grew out her hair and now styled it in two pigtail braids. The years did not affect her personality at all. She was still the shy, quiet and clumsy girl that she was since she was little. If it was even possible, she may have become even shyer than when she was seven.

Today, thirteen year old Sakuno Ryuzaki was supposed to meet up with her grandmother to go to a tennis tournament together. However, due to some circumstances, Sakuno had to go there by herself. Sitting on the train, she was about to fall asleep when she felt a breeze blow across her face. She opened her eyes just in time to see a tennis racket swing down about an inch from her face.

Sakuno gasped in surprise and squeezed her eyes shut when she felt another swing coming close to her face.

"You see, if you hold the racket like this, it's called the Western grip." A taller man with long shoulder length orange hair told his friends as the train continued to move. "Most people don't even know that." He continued to brag while swinging his racket back and forth nearly hitting Sakuno in the nose.

"A-Ano…" she was about to protest when a voice across from her interrupted.

"Hey!" a vaguely familiar voice spoke out. "You're making a lot of noise."

The group of taller tennis students turned to see who dared to interrupt them and Sakuno did the same. She wondered who it was that just saved her. Looking up, she saw a young boy maybe around her age sitting on the train seat diagonally to her right. He wore a white cap that looked utterly familiar to Sakuno. '_I feel like I've seen this before…_' she thought to herself. She tried to get a glimpse of the boy's face but realized she could not. His cap had obscured the majority of his face from her view.

"This is the first time I've been told by an _elementary kid_ how to play or hold my racquet." The taller man named Sasabe said. Suddenly, his racquet slipped from his hand and he bent down to pick it up.

"The Western grip is done by grasping a racquet as if you are picking it up. The style you were talking about before is called the _Eastern Grip._" The boy corrected and Sasabe flushed in embarrassment. Once the train door opens, Sasabe and his crew quickly exited the train.

"M-Matte! I have to get off here too!" Sakuno said as she quickly grabbed her items and exited the train. The boy that saved her exited right behind her.

Glancing at her watch, Sakuno wondered where her grandmother went. Her grandmother was supposed to meet up with her at the current meeting place. Figuring that she was probably late, Sakuno chose to wait a while longer. While waiting, she noticed the same boy on the train walking back and forth as if he was a little lost. He spotted her staring and approached her. "Hey, which way is to the tennis tournament?" he asked her.

"E-Eto…" she thought for a moment and then pointed to the south exit. "Thank You." He said in English and proceeded toward the South exit. When he turned, she noticed that his name was Ryoma and wondered where she heard that name before. She shrugged it off. Thirty minutes later, she saw her grandmother approaching her. "Obaa-chan! You're late." Sakuno scolded.

"Hai. Gomen ne. Sakuno. I had to take care of something at school first." Sumire Ryuzaki explained. "Come on now. The tournaments are about to start." Sakuno followed behind her grandmother as they headed towards the North Exit.

"Ano Obaa-chan…isn't the tournament by the South exit?"

"Huh? No, it's the North exit."

"Eeeehhhh?" Sakuno panicked. She just told the boy who saved her that it was the South Exit!

"Obaa-chan, you go ahead. I'll meet you there later. I have to find someone first."

Before Sumire could say anything more, Sakuno had run off to the South Exit. '_Mou…please don't be late!'_ Sakuno thought. '_It'll be my entire fault.'_

By the time she found the boy, he was laying on the grass. She approached him anxiously. "Ano…about the match, did you make it in time?" she asked.

The boy sat up and looked at her through his baseball cap. "I was five minutes late so I got disqualified." Sakuno felt a heavy cloud on her head. "I-I'm so sorry!" she apologized with a bow. "it's all my fault!"

The boy looked at her and sighed. "Of course it is. Who else?"

"Mou…" Sakuno mumbled, feeling extremely bad for her mistake. Trying to break the awkward tension between them, she quickly offered to buy him a drink only to realize later that she didn't even have any money on her.

Sighing at the ill turn of events, Sakuno thankfully accepted a drink when the boy handed her a grape flavored ponta. As they sat together, Sakuno wondered why she felt like she was in a déjà vu situation. The boy sitting next to her felt extremely familiar and his name somewhat clicked within her. His cap casted a dark shadow on his eyes and she couldn't tell if his hair's true color was dark green or black.

Just as she was about to ask him some questions, an empty soda can zoomed right past her face startling her.

Sakuno turned to see the same people that caused a ruckus behind them. The one that Sakuno recalled being called Sasabe, walked past her and in a state of panic, didn't move fast enough to avoid him. As a result a bit of juice spilled all over his shirt.

"What the!" Sasabe yelled. "You've got juice all over me you brat!"

"I-I'm s-sorry." Sakuno stuttered.

"Hey." The boy with the white cap turned to the group. "Do you want me to teach you some tennis?" he said cockily and Sakuno wondered if he was asking for trouble. How could a boy win against this tall high schooler?

"A-Ano… I don't think that's a good idea…" Sakuno whispered to the boy but he simply shrugged. "Don't worry about it. Just hold on to my jacket for me."

"Eh?" she said with a surprised expression. "H-Hai."

They moved the competition to a free court. Sakuno watched anxiously and prayed that the boy would be able to handle himself on the court.

Ryoma allowed Sasabe to serve first. His friends cheered him on by the side making more noise than Sakuno would like, considering her anxiousness at the moment.

"Show him Sasabe!" they yelled, "Your fast serve!"

"Here goes!" he exclaimed before hitting the ball across the court. "Mada Mada Dane." The boy suddenly said with a smirk. "Was that supposed to be your fast serve?"

Sakuno gasped at the phrase. There was only one person she knew that said that. The one person she was waiting for unknowingly these six years – almost giving up on it.

"C-Could he be -?" she muttered underneath her breath.

"There you are Sakuno." Her grandmother's voice sounded behind her. "Seems like you beat me to it."

"Obaa-chan…" she greeted and then turned her attention back to the game. "That's…."

"Echizen Ryoma." Her grandmother finished for her. "…Also known as the Prince of Tennis." Sakuno almost took a step back in shock. So it was him! She had been so engrossed in her thoughts that she did not even realize that Sasabe had lost a whole game and it was now Ryoma leading.

"Let's hurry and finish this." She heard him say. "I hope you're ready for this."

Sakuno watched as the memories came flowing back. That form, the 45 degree leg bent, the jump, and the swing…It was completely the same.

"Beautiful form, just like his father." She heard her obaa-chan say next to her.

This form, she's seen it before in the past. Just as the ball met the racket, she yells out the move she's been waiting to see these six years:

"That's…That's the twist serve!"

The ball met the racquet and the ball swerved powerfully toward the other side of the court. It happened faster than Sakuno could remember. The next thing she knew was that the ball had hit Sasabe in the face. In the end, he ended up getting a nosebleed and was quickly dragged off the court by his friends despite his unwillingness. At the moment, she couldn't tell if she was dreaming or not. Finally, she was able to see his perfected twist serve just as they promised six years ago.

'_Ryoma-kun…you did it!' _ She thought.

Ryoma turned to face her suddenly. He looked at her for a while before saying, "Hn. So even someone like you know what that move was." He was somewhat surprised that a girl who looked completely ignorant actually knew the name of his infamous move.

Sakuno nodded mutely. "You…You don't remember me?" she asked quietly suddenly feeling as if her heart dropped to the bottom of her stomach. Ryoma only stared at her a little longer.

"W-We made a promise six years ago at the airport, Ryoma-kun…"

'_Airport?'_ he thought and remembered the girl with the maroon hair who was silly enough to make a promise with him. But he guessed he wasn't any better since he agreed to it too.

"So today is that 'next time' huh?" he asked.

He took off his white cap and wiped the sweat off his face. As the sun shone on his dark hair, a brilliant dark green appeared. His olive-gold cat eyes were no longer hidden by his cap. Sakuno held her breath as she observed the boy in front of her. He had grown up to be even more handsome than she could remember and seemed almost cocky in his behavior.

"H-Hai" she only managed to squeak out. When she finally snapped out of it, he was already taking the jacket out of her hands. Before she released it completely, she looked at him and whispered,

"Welcome back, Ryoma-kun."

Their eyes met for a moment and her mind went blank. Slowly, the most gorgeous smile formed on his face as he whispered back,

"…Tadaima (I'm Home.)"

* * *

><p>The END…and this is how P.O.T. should've began…lol<p>

* * *

><p><strong>[AN:]** Thank you for reading till the end (I was afraid the length of this would scare many people away) and I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did writing it. I haven't taken any English classes or written much since three years ago so if some of what I wrote makes no sense in terms of grammar or sentence structure, I'm sorry! But please overlook that and just enjoy the story.

Lately and possibly into the future, I'll only write one shots. This way, the story would have a beginning and an end. I know you guys hate waiting for me to update so one shots would totally spare you for that suffering.

Once again, this probably makes the longest one shot ever at 16 pages on MS word.

Credits: I did use part of the scenes from the P.O.T manga and anime towards the end although I took out some parts and tweaked it a little bit. So I don't take credit for those parts that I got completely from the original manga/anime scene or subtitles.

Once again, thank you for patiently waiting for my update and I hope you will read and _review_! See you guys soon!


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